The Six Triple Eight – A Fantastic Story in the Wrong Hands

Inspired by a true story, The Six Triple Eight is writer/director Tyler Perry’s third feature film of the year following Mea Culpa and Divorce in the Black. Easily the best of the three, the film follows the first and only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas during World War II and are given an impossible mission: sorting through a three-year backlog of mail that have yet to be delivered to American soldiers. A fantastic true story at its core that’s perfectly suited for the film treatment, and one with a highly talented cast to back it up, it is one of Perry’s more competently made films to date. That being said, it’s not saying much as the film, as a whole, is still a bit of a mixed bag.

A well put together film that is clearly made with care and has a decent sized budget to boot, these help it stand out, giving it the kind of scale and scope unlike that of any of Perry’s previous films. On the technical side, it does a good job at capturing its 1940’s setting, off the strength of its stellar production and costume design. An inspirational story and full of hope whose themes are still relevant today, the film certainly has all the makings of becoming a true crowd pleaser. But, without a doubt, the best thing about The Six Triple Eight is its cast, who all worked their butts off. Out of that cast, Washington is easily the standout, delivering another strong performance as Major Charity Adams. Meanwhile, Obsidian is another highlight as Lena Derriecott King. and the chemistry between she and Washington provides many of the film’s strongest moments. Although in supporting roles, having the likes of Susan Sarandon, Dean Norris, and Oprah Winfrey also as part of the cast gives the film some credibility, participating in some of the film’s best scenes.

While The Six Triple Eight lacks the types of issues that would sink it from the get-go, the honest truth is that this should have been helmed by a different filmmaker because as much of a step up as this is for Perry, compared to his usual work, he feels out of his element and not the best fit for this material. His writing also hurts the film, producing cheesy and hokey dialogue, and giving it an aura of Oscar bait in the worst sense. Overly sentimental at times, those emotional moments fail to land their desired impact because of how forced and unnatural they feel as a result of the script and/or direction. The film runs a bit too long as well, clocking in at just over the 2-hour mark, as the pacing definitely could have been improved, instead of being an absolute drag at times. Boasting a great cast, many are underused and are not quite given enough character development.

In the end, The Six Triple Eight is a fine enough film that should please the average audience streaming it over the holidays, but it is also one that should have been so much better given its inspirational true story and the talented cast. Though one of the better films of Tyler Perry’s career, the truth is he arguably was not the right person to tackle this story. Doing his best in spite of this, he also holds it back because of the recurring issues that have plagued most of his films. For audiences who are war or history buffs, this might be worth a watch but if for those who interested in learning more about this story in history, they are better off just reading a book or doing their own research.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/